Toray’s carbon fiber recycled from Boeing repurposed into Lenovo laptop

Toray Industries successfully developed recycled carbon fiber derived from the production process of the Boeing 787 components using Toray’s carbon fiber – TORAYCA. Based on pyrolysis recycling process, the recycled carbon fiber has been integrated into the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 as reinforcement filler for thermoplastic pellets.

The life cycle of Toray’s carbon fiber.

Properties of carbon fiber allow repurpose

TORAYCA is an aerospace material with high strength, stiffness, and lightweight properties. It is also adopted into other applications such as electrical and electronic equipment housings, sports equipment, and other industrial applications.

A key advantage of carbon fiber is its ability to retain primary mechanical properties even after the recycling process. Toray is advancing recycling technologies and establishing a strategic business model for recycled carbon fiber.

Shared sustainability commitment

Toray’s recycled carbon fiber is resulted from Boeing and Lenovo’s shared commitment to minimize their environmental impact. Boeing’s objective is to reduce solid waste to landfill and produce recyclable materials, while Lenovo explores materials to reduce the carbon footprint of products.

“Working with Toray and Boeing to integrate recycled carbon fiber material into our next generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon is another step in our transition to a circular economy,” commented Yasumichi Tsukamoto, executive director and distinguished engineer, Commercial Product Solutions Development of Lenovo.

Toray also aims to pursue and highlight efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by helping its customers enhance its product life cycle assessment, reducing the life cycle inventories of carbon fibers, prepregs, and other products, and building a carbon fiber “material ecosystem”.